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Mass Readings

First Reading 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a
Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled came to Samuel to Ramatha. And they said to him: Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: make us a king, to judge us, as all nations have. And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say: Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them. Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had desired a king of him, And said: This will be the right of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen, and his running footmen, to run before his chariots, And he will appoint of them to be his tribunes, and his centurions, and to plough his fields, and to reap his corn, and to make him arms and chariots. Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks, and bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your best oliveyards, and give them to his servants. Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants. Your servants also, and handmaids, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, he will take away, and put them to his work. Your flocks also he will tithe, and you shall be his servants. And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom you have chosen to yourselves: and the Lord will not hear you in that day, because you desired unto yourselves a king. But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said, Nay: but there shall be a king over us, And we also will be like all nations: and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles for us. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel: Let every man go to his city.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 89:16-17, 18-19
Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance: And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted. For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.
Gospel Mark 2:1-12
And again he entered into Capharnaum after some days. And it was heard that he was in the house. And many came together, so that there was no room: no, not even at the door. And he spoke to them the word. And they came to him, bringing one sick of the palsy, who was carried by four. And when they could not offer him unto him for the multitude, they uncovered the roof where he was: and opening it, they let down the bed wherein the man sick of the palsy lay. And when Jesus had seen their faith, he saith to the sick of the palsy: Son, thy sins are forgiven thee. And there were some of the scribes sitting there and thinking in their hearts: Why doth this man speak thus? He blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins, but God only? Which Jesus presently knowing in his spirit that they so thought within themselves, saith to them: Why think you these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy: Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say: Arise, take up thy bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy): I say to thee: Arise. Take up thy bed and go into thy house. And immediately he arose and, taking up his bed, went his way in the sight of all: so that all wondered and glorified God, saying: We never saw the like.
USCCB Readings →

Liturgy of the Hours

WEEK 1

Office of Readings

psalm Psalm 35:1-2, 3c, 9-12
For David himself. Judge thou, O Lord, them that wrong me: overthrow them that fight against me. Take hold of arms and shield: and rise up to help me. Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that persecute me: say to my soul: I am thy salvation. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted in his salvation. All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like to thee? Who deliverest the poor from the hand of them that are stronger than he; the needy and the poor from them that strip him. Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not. They repaid me evil for good: to the depriving me of my soul.
psalm Psalm 35:13-16
But as for me, when they were troublesome to me, I was clothed with haircloth. I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall be turned into my bosom. As a neighbour and as an own brother, so did I please: as one mourning and sorrowful so was I humbled. But they rejoiced against me, and came together: scourges were gathered together upon me, and I knew not. They were separated, and repented not: they tempted me, they scoffed at me with scorn: they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
psalm Psalm 35:17-19, 22-23, 27-28
Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? rescue thou my soul from their malice: my only one from the lions. I will give thanks to thee in a great church; I will praise thee in a strong people. Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: who have hated me without cause, and wink with the eyes. Thou hast seen, O Lord, be not thou silent: O Lord, depart not from me. Arise, and be attentive to my judgment: to my cause, my God, and my Lord. Let them rejoice and be glad, who are well pleased with my justice, and let them say always: The Lord be magnified, who delights in the peace of his servant. And my tongue shall meditate thy justice, thy praise all the day long.

Lauds

psalm Psalm 51
Unto the end, a psalm of David, When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had sinned with Bethsabee. [2 Kings 12.] Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
canticle Isaiah 45:15-25
Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the saviour. They are all confounded and ashamed: the forgers of errors are gone together into confusion. Israel is saved in the Lord with an eternal salvation: you shall not be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed for ever and ever. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof: he did not create it in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I have not said to the seed of Jacob: Seek me in vain. I am the Lord that speak justice, that declare right things. Assemble yourselves, and come, and draw near together, ye that are saved of the Gentiles: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven work, and pray to a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and come, and consult together: who hath declared this from the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me? A just God and a saviour, there is none besides me. Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my mouth, and shall not return: For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall swear. Therefore shall he say: In the Lord are my justices and empire: they shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded.
psalm Psalm 100
A psalm of praise. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness. Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy. Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him. Praise ye his name: For the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to generation and generation.

Terce

psalm Psalm 119:25-32
My soul hath cleaved to the pavement: quicken thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou hast heard me: teach me thy justifications. Make me to understand the way of thy justifications: and I shall be exercised in thy wondrous works. My soul hath slumbered through heaviness: strengthen thou me in thy words. Remove from me the way of iniquity: and out of thy law have mercy on me. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments I have not forgotten. I have stuck to thy testimonies, O Lord: put me not to shame. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart.
psalm Psalm 26
Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.
psalm Psalm 28:1-3, 6-9
A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

Sext

psalm Psalm 119:25-32
My soul hath cleaved to the pavement: quicken thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou hast heard me: teach me thy justifications. Make me to understand the way of thy justifications: and I shall be exercised in thy wondrous works. My soul hath slumbered through heaviness: strengthen thou me in thy words. Remove from me the way of iniquity: and out of thy law have mercy on me. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments I have not forgotten. I have stuck to thy testimonies, O Lord: put me not to shame. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart.
psalm Psalm 26
Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.
psalm Psalm 28:1-3, 6-9
A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

None

psalm Psalm 119:25-32
My soul hath cleaved to the pavement: quicken thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou hast heard me: teach me thy justifications. Make me to understand the way of thy justifications: and I shall be exercised in thy wondrous works. My soul hath slumbered through heaviness: strengthen thou me in thy words. Remove from me the way of iniquity: and out of thy law have mercy on me. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments I have not forgotten. I have stuck to thy testimonies, O Lord: put me not to shame. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart.
psalm Psalm 26
Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.
psalm Psalm 28:1-3, 6-9
A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

Vespers

psalm Psalm 41
Unto the end, a psalm for David himself. Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: thou hast turned all his couch in his sickness. I said: O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. My enemies have spoken evils against me: when shall he die and his name perish? And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things: his heart gathered together iniquity to itself. He went out and spoke to the same purpose. All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me. They determined against me an unjust word: shall he that sleepeth rise again no more? For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly supplanted me. But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise my up again: and I will requite them. By this I know, that thou hast had a good will for me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me. But thou hast upheld me by reason of my innocence: and hast established me in thy sight for ever. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity. So be it. So be it.
psalm Psalm 46
Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden. Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly. Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea. Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled with his strength. The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help it in the morning early. Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: he uttered his voice, the earth trembled. The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector. Come and behold ye the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath done upon earth, Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth. He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in the fire. Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.
canticle Revelation 15:3-4
And singing the canticle of Moses, the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, O King of ages. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? For thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest.

Compline

psalm Psalm 88
A canticle of a psalm for the sons of Core: unto the end, for Maheleth, to answer understanding of Eman the Ezrahite. O Lord, the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day, and in the night before thee. Let my prayer come in before thee: incline thy ear to my petition. For my soul is filled with evils: and my life hath drawn nigh to hell. I am counted among them that go down to the pit: I am become as a man without help, Free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. They have laid me in the lower pit: in the dark places, and in the shadow of death. Thy wrath is strong over me: and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me. Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth: My eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried to thee, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to thee. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? or shall physicians raise to life, and give praise to thee? Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy: and thy truth in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark; and thy justice in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, have cried to thee: and in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee. Lord, why castest thou off my prayer: why turnest thou away thy face from me? I am poor, and in labours from my youth: and being exalted have been humbled and troubled. Thy wrath hath come upon me: and thy terrors have troubled me. They have come round about me like water all the day: they have compassed me about together. Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me: and my acquaintance, because of misery.